Labour of BSF jawan’s widow pays off, sons set to become doctors
The younger son of Vimla Devi (48) from Rajasthan’s Jodhpur district cleared National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), the results of which were declared early this month.
The widow of a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan worked as a daily-wage labourer to earn money for her two sons’ education, and her hard work paid off. Her two sons are set to become doctors.
The younger son of Vimla Devi (48) from Rajasthan’s Jodhpur district cleared National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), the results of which were declared early this month. Chandramohan Vishnoi (17) got all-India rank 2011 in NEET 2018.
Vimla Devi’s elder son Ashok Vishnoi (22) got AIR 4000 in NEET 2013; he is now a final year MBBS student at Rabindra Nath Tagore Medical College of Udaipur.
The family lives in a mud house at Savreej village in Phalodi tehsil of Jodhpur district. Vimla Devi said she had taken up the responsibility of her sons’ education after husband Shankarlal Vishnoi, who was a BSF constable, died eight years ago in a road accident in Rajasthan.
“The pension of my husband was around ₹5000 after his death. This was not sufficient to meet the family’s day-to-day and my sons’ educational expenses. I had to work as a daily-wage labourer to finance the higher education of my kids,” she said.
“Though my mother is illiterate, she knew the importance of education, so she worked as a daily-wage labourer under National Rural Employment Gaurantee Scheme to make us doctors one day,” said Chandramohan who has participated in NEET counselling for admission to a medical college. He wants to become a cardiologist.
“Due to growing age and financial conditions, my mother faced health challenges, but she never looked back in her commitment to educate us.”
Chandramohan and his brother studied in a Hindi medium in government school at Savreej village. Ashok said, “We have 3 beeghas of agricultural land on which we cultivate bajra to meet grain requirements of the family. If monsoon fails, we have to borrow grains from others”.
Vimla Devi said she had borrowed around ₹5 lakh from relatives and others for her sons’ education and their coaching for NEET in Kota. Both took coaching from Allen Career Institute of Kota, which, Vimla said, provided them concessions in fees.
Institute’s director Naveen Maheshwari said, “Allen has always supported rural talent with financially weak background. If a poor student achieves success, then not only his family but the entire village is benefitted.”